If a person intends to perform an act, he must keep in mind the ruling of that act. For example, if I want to return a greeting to a person, I must keep in mind that the ruling of this greeting is a recommended practice (sunnah).

The questioner : That is, if a person intends to perform an act, he must keep in mind the ruling of that act. That is, if he wants to pray two or three rak'ahs of the Dhuhr prayer, it is an obligation. But if I want to return a greeting to a person, I must also keep in mind that the ruling of this greeting is a recommended practice (sunnah) or...

The Shaykh : You must know the ruling. It is obligatory for you to know it. Just as it is not permissible to lower the ruling—for example, if it is an obligation, you lower it to the level of a recommended practice (sunnah) and act upon it as if it were a sunnah—likewise, it is not permissible to raise the ruling. If it is a sunnah, you do not raise it and make it the equivalent of an obligatory prayer. Neither of these is permissible, ever. The reason is that you greet as you pray. When you pray, you keep in mind that this prayer is not an obligation but rather the sunnah of Fajr, as I said. This is sufficient. Likewise, when you say "As-salamu alaykum" to your Muslim brother, you must keep in mind that this greeting is obligatory. Or, if Allah forbid, if you believe it is a sunnah, as some people believe, then you are mistaken. It is sufficient for you to say "As-salamu alaykum" while knowing that this is obligatory, because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded it.